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These Patriotic Sugar Cookies are a soft, delicate sugar cookie filled with red, white and blue M&M’s! This is an old fashioned sugar cookie recipe that is more cakey and tender than chewy.
What is it about M&Ms that conjure up childhood memories? Remember when they added the blue ones? I may or may not have eaten the entire first bag of M&Ms that I purchased for my Patriotic M&M Sugar Cookie recipe. It was not a snack size. Oops. The Wedding Fairy was pissed. Sometimes a girls gotta eat brightly colored milk chocolate candies. It doesn’t happen often in my house but when the mood is right…
After I was done kicking myself for not picking out all the blue and red ones before consuming the entire bag, I dragged myself back to the store (ugh), because I didn’t want to make just any M&M sugar cookies; I wanted to make Patriotic M&M sugar cookies. Yup- there is a huge difference. The difference is that in order to make the patriotic variety you have to spend valuable time sorting through tiny coated candies that promise to melt in your mouth and not in your hand but totally cover your hands in a rainbow of colors in 5 minutes flat.
The sugar cookie base for these M&M sugar cookies is the Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies from Good Housekeeping’s 1955 Edition. It is a more cakey sugar cookie that isn’t as sweet as drop chewy sugar cookies.
The Good Housekeeping Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe is unique and I was intrigued by its use of buttermilk and requiring that you whip the egg white to stiff peaks before incorporating into the batter. It definitely produced a lighter, fluffier cookie. An interesting twist on an old American favorite!
Patriotic M&M Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg white room temperature
- 1 cup M&M's
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Whisk together flour soda, salt, and soda. Set aside.
- Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until very light and fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer.
- Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.
- Beat egg white stiff. It will whip up faster if you bring the egg white to room temperature and then beat with chilled beaters in a chilled bowl. Fold beaten egg white into batter. Fold in M&M’s.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a greased cookie sheet 3” apart.
- Bake until golden brown. Mine took 8-10 minutes.
I love the nostalgia behind these cookies using the 1955 Good Housekeeping recipe as a base. It was cakey and delicious. And it is totally worth picking through the M&M’s for the red and blue ones. 🇺🇸
Hi Sharon! I’m so happy you connected with this recipe–the red and blue colors are a blast!
Wanted to try these sugar cookies ahead of time and these were a hit with my kids! They couldn’t get over all the colors, and they tasted amazing! Will definitely make a double batch for the holiday to share with friends!
Hi Michelle! I love these colors too, and a double batch sounds amazing!
These were so easy and delicious! The M&Ms went well with the cookie dough. Will be making this recipe year around with different M&Ms.
Hi Elizabeth, I’m happy to hear you found a new recipe to add to your frequent bakes!
Made a test batch and they came out better than expected. Will make a double batch for our Memorial Day gathering. I’m sure they will be a hit.
Hi Lisa! These are perfect for Memorial Day, thank you so much for commenting!
Kids love to help me in making these patriotic m&m sugar cookies! They are so much fun to make and turned out so chewy and decadent. Everyone is delighted!
Hi Sharina! I’m so happy to hear that you and the kids had a delightful time!
Perfect cookies for the 4th of July! Very festive and colorful!
Thanks Julia! They make me smile 🙂
OMG I remember what joy M&M’s brought me during my childhood. I still remember the excitement I felt as a child whenever seeing a bag of M&M’s, whether it be the plain or peanut ones (I think those were the only ones around when I was a kid). They were one of my fav treats to get when trick-or-treating.
Is it me or does it always seem like you rarely listen to the wedding fairy? lol…of course, no one can blame you!
They only had plain and peanut ones when I was a kid too. I remember when they came out with the peanut butter ones – I’m pretty sure those contributed more than their fair share to my Freshman Fifteen!
It is not just you! Lol! The Wedding Fairy is the definite loser in most of these battlesI have a feeling that might change when I go in for my first dress fitting!
Great idea! Love the patriotism!
Thanks!